N.J. man gets probation for falsifying credentials to work in military bases

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerDonald Breese, left, and his attorney James Pfeiffer leave the federal courthouse in Newark after Breese was sentenced to three years of supervised probation. Breese was charged with two counts of submitted false documents to the government; a college degree and a bomb school certification. He had gained access to Picatinny Arsenal and Fort Dix before a retired EOD vet ran into him and blew the whistle.

FORT DIX — Donald Breese worked in sensitive areas of two military bases in New Jersey for four years, federal authorities said, overseeing safety and explosive operations while passing himself off as a combat veteran and member of an an elite group of military experts trained to disarm and dispose of bombs.

The 38-year-old Somerset County native wore a jacket bearing the logo of military bomb experts as he taught local police how to handle explosives during courses at Fort Dix.

But Breese falsified his credentials to get the job, according to a federal prosecutor. He was a 1991 graduate of Somerset County Vo-Tech and a former U.S. Navy medic who never saw combat. And he did not have any training with explosives.

"I understand what I did was really wrong ... I apologize to the court," Breese said in a brief statement in federal court in Newark today as he was sentenced to three years of supervised probation on charges he gave false documents to the government.

Armed with an embellished resume that claimed he was a wounded-in-combat Navy SEAL who was trained in foreign weapons and munitions., he first got a safety specialist job at Fort Dix in 2004, according to authorities. By 2008, he secured a higher-ranking job involving explosives safety at Picatinny Arsenal.

"Commanders at Picatinny and Fort Dix described Mr. Breese as a very convincing person," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Andre Espinosa.

"He was even praised for his job performance while at Fort Dix," said James Pfeiffer, his defense lawyer.

The resume was impressive, almost unbelievable, military officials told authorities. But the military command never checked it out, according to federal authorities.

Among Breese’s claims on his resume: that he was a bomb technician for the Department of Defense, a trained sniper and a veteran of military conflicts, from Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Operations Desert Calm and Restore Hope; that he earned certification from the Hazardous Devices School run by the U.S. Army and FBI and held a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, according to authorities.

None of it was true, prosecutors said. Breese’s Navy service never took him beyond Camp Pendelton, Calif., where he landed in 1991 until he was discharged in 1994 at the rank of Hospital Corpsman Third Class. It was after he returned home and spent a decade holding various small jobs that civilian life began to weigh on him — and he literally reinvented himself, according to his attorney.

"He was dedicated to the military and he just wanted to do the job. He wanted to continue serving his country," said Pfeiffer, his lawyer, adding that Breese’s Navy career ended after he suffered an unspecified injury.

Breese’s ruse was uncovered shortly after he got a new job at Picatinny on March 31, 2008, and started working with Ed Pinson, a Vietnam veteran with 41 years of experience in "Explosive Ordnance Disposal," or EOD, for the U.S. Army. Pinson, 62, had been retired, but was re-hired at Picatinny to handle specialized work at the Rockaway Township base before Breese took a supervisor post there, prosecutors said.

Pinson almost immediately started questioning Breese’s experience and contacted fellow EOD expert Jerry Kreiter at Fort Benning, Ga. about Breese, according to authorities. Pinson and Kreiter then contacted Paul Carter, the director of the Hazardous Devices School, and within minutes, Breese’s resume unraveled, authorities said.

Breese was suspended in October 2008. He was formally charged in May 2009 when the FBI raided his Somerset home, finding grenades and improvised explosive devices. The U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended the probationary sentence. Breese had already served four months in prison after his arrest before making bail.

In issuing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge William Martini directed much of his criticism at the military, questioning how Breese could have been hired and given access to "sensitive" areas of military basis in an age of terror attacks.

"The court has some concern about the neglect...It’s troubling," the judge said. "This is embarrassing for the government. This is post 9/11...It doesn’t leave me with much confidence. We’re not talking about some agency like the Social Security Administration."

Espinosa, the prosecutor, said part of the problem was the military’s screening process, which utilized a computer program that matched keywords in resumes to available civilian jobs on military bases. No one checked if the resumes were valid, according to Breese’s attorney.

"I have been made aware that steps have been taken to improve security," Espinosa told the judge.